Smart Art

World-class art in Cambridge. No, not there.

Photo: MIT List Visual Arts Center

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ften bypassed in favor of that other university across town, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology has an unparalleled permanent collection of contemporary art displayed around its Charles River-side campus, including sculptures by Alexander Calder, Henry Moore (above), and Louise Nevelson, all available to see for free. A self-guided tour to the works is available at MIT’s List Gallery, a grid-patterned art museum designed by MIT alumnus I.M. Pei, where rotating exhibits are shown (it’s also free), or you can download a map here.

The navigation instruments that made it possible for man to land on the moon are on display in Kendall Square in the lobby of the Charles Stark Draper Laboratory, where they were developed. Company progenitor Charles Draper invented the highly accurate Mark XIV gunsight used in World War II. A Mark XIV also is here, along with a model of a Mars probe designed in 1957 but never launched. The company is at 555 Technology Square.